I have a 720p 50inch plasma samsung and it will accept a 1080p resolution throiugh hdmi so my question is , is it better to choose a 1280x720 resoltuion on my devices and have it upscale or choose the 1080p resolution and have it downscale? technically speaking. The sets native res is 1366x768 or something like that so just curious, thanks for ur answers

I think you may be a little confused by what scaling is being done, and where.

First of all, you said that the native resolution of your display is 1366 x 768 (the the same as the flat panel TV set I have). That means that no matter what you send it, the set will always scale the input video to 1366 x 768 - that's all it can output to its panel (some displays may have the capability of using only 1280 x 720 of the full panel, with black bars all around, but I'm not aware of any, except for projectors).

If you send it a SD DVD input of 480i, the set will deinterlace it to 480p and scale it to 1366 x 768. If you send it a 480p ("progressive scan") video, it will just scale it to 1366 x 768.

If you send it a 720p signal, then that will be rescaled to 1366 x 768. There is no 720i.

If you send it a 1080i signal, it will deinterlace it and down-scale it to 1366 x 768. If the signal is 1080p (from one of the newer HD players, Blu-ray or HD-DVD) then the video will be down-scaled to 1366 x 768.

If I sound like a "broken record", it's because digital displays can only show their native resolution. That doesn't mean that a 1080p video won't look better, or worse, than a 720p one. That depends on the quality of the video processing being done, and where. Some 1366 x 768 displays are better at scaling 1080p to their native resolution than they are at scaling 720p, and some aren't. It also depends on the quality of the video source (some are very good and some are really bad).

NOTE: HDTV broadcast signals (OTA, cable, or satellite) are either 720p or 1080i, and you don't have a choice. No one broadcasts 1080p because it uses too much bandwidth.

Good post CT_Wiebe.

I just wanted to throw out there that I own a Syntax Olevia 232v 32" LCD HDTV that has a resolution of 1366x768 and it has a 1:1 aspect ratio mode.

I belive all Olevias have this option.

But it's like you said; when viewing 1280x720p material and enabling 1:1 mode, it places about 1" black bars all the way around the image.

I use this mode all the time to avoid the scaling in the TV as through various tests of my own, I've discovered it doesn't do a very good job of perserving the image if I use "aspect" or "fullscreen".

-Brian

ok so it doesnt matter what resolution i choose itll always look the same be in upscaling or downscaling essentially? its the samsung pn50a450

I'm pretty sure the answer is "No, it doesn't matter which resolution you choose as the TV will just be scaling it to its native resolution anyways."

In all my tests, I've noticed ZERO difference between 720p and 1080i when stretching the image to the full panel resolution.

As I mentioned though, I have the option of 1:1 mode, so I just use 720p and 1:1 and just live with a slightly smaller than fullscreen image without distortion.

Hope it helps,

-Brian

ok so it doesnt matter what resolution i choose itll always look the same be in upscaling or downscaling essentially? its the samsung pn50a450That may or may not be true (although it should be). It is true on my set, but may not be on yours. You really have to try both and see which one looks better. As I said, there may be noticeable differences, depending on the source and the quality of the processing circuits.

kamui -- It's good that you have the 1:1 mode on your Olevia. I don't have that option on my LG, but then I don't get a distorted picture either, at 1366 x 768. I also have a 27" Olevia (327V), and there doesn't seem to be any difference (other than picture size), on HD signals, between 1:1 and full resolution (using the HDMI connection from my DirecTV HR20 receiver).

ya on the samsungs 1:1 is called just scan mode i noticed when i put my tv in 1080i and just scan mode on the left i get this weird colored line but when in 720p just scan mode and with the satellite in hd normal view its perfect , was just more curious about this question for xbox 360 if it would be better to have my tv at 1080p res which it cant display then downscale or choose the 1280x720 and have it upscale . Thanks for clearing that up much appreciated

CT What LG do u have?

In all honesty, I can't notice too much of a difference in practice but when I view 1 pixel wide sharpness patterns for example, and I stretch the image from 1:1 to fullscreen it TERRIBLY distorts the image, it's quite drastic.

I guess I just want to know I'm getting the least distortion possible even if I don't really notice it.

Also, have you calibrated your Olevia? I'm curious of what you think of its performance. I would be ESPECIALLY curious if you've managed to do a grayscale calibration. I've tried for over a year, on numerous threads to find information about the problems I've had trying to get my settings to stick. I've even tried to get an ISF calibration but was ignored there too. :(

Thanks in advance,

-Brian

bradtn -- My LG is a 32LC2D (32") which I purchased the last week in December 2006. Except for vacations and when I use my projector (on a 106" screen :D), it has been on for 24/7 (about 10,220 hours total, to date). The only problem I've had is that after about 4,000 hours (about 85% of it watching SDTV shows) it developed 2 vertical dark lines that are at the edges of the 4:3 image. These have lightened up a bit since DirecTV has increased its HD programming (we're up to about 65%+ HDTV, 16:9, program watching now). The lines are only really visible on light, almost white, backgrounds now.

kamui -- I used the GetGray Caldisc to do a visual calibration on the Olevia (no colorimeter) to set the Brightness, Contrast, Color, and Tint controls. SD TV isn't bad, but the HDTV picture quality is absolutely gorgeous (within the contrast ratio limitations of the display, of course - the black levels are a touch on the gray side). I also have AVIA and DVE (all SD versions), but I find that the GetGray version is much easier to use, does a better job of setting black levels, and does the job in a lot less time.

PS -- I don't use the 1:1 format at all. I use the 16:9 mode (which scales all HD images to 1366 x 768 and scales the 4:3 images to 1024 x 768) on both the Olevia and the LG..

CT_Wiebe, if you access the service menu you can adjust the backlight control to get even better blacks.

The "Dark Room" setting in the service menu starts at a value of 200, I raised this number to the maximum of 239 and the blacks were greatly deepened!

I changed the "Medium Room" from 165 to 200 and the "Bright Room" from 1 to 165.

I had no need for the Olevia to EVER be that bright :-p

I have a completely dark room and an Idealume standard light and using the darkest backlight possible with a higher contrast setting yields a pretty decent picture indeed.

Hope that helps, it's definitely a nice TV for the price!

-Brian